I have been on this board awhile now, maybe it's time to introduce myself while I have time off from work and the internet is actually working! I'm not good at blogging, and I have never journaled, so it should be interesting.
01. Name? Valerie
02. Gender? Female
03. Disneyworld or Disneyland? Never been to either, though both my kids have been multiple times with their dad.
04. What is your favorite color? Blues/purples/grays
05. What is your favorite kind of gum? ICK
06. How much do you weigh? I actually have no idea- we don't own a scale!
07. How tall are you? 5'4" I think
08. Can you swim? yes
09. Do you like to swim? NO
10. Living arrangement? Living with my partner of 11 years- the longest, most stable part of my life so far!
11. What's on your mouse pad? Jack Russell Terrier
12. Favorite board game? Mouse Trap!
13. Favorite magazine? Don't have time for magazines- haven't read any in years.
14. Favorite Actor? No idea, don't care
15. Favorite Actress?No idea, don't care
16. Do you have an accent? I don't think so!
17. Favorite smells? Horse, incense
18. Least favorite smells?Chemicals, perfumes, overly perfumed laundry stuff, Glade plug-ins and icky stuff like that.
19. Favorite sound? The horses running in the paddock playing
20. Do you prefer pools or oceans? Neither.
21. Do you watch Buffy The Vampire Slayer? Loved Buffy!
22. Pencil or pen? Pen- pencil makes my blood run cold
23. Who's better - boys or girls? DUH
24. Would you like to own a motorcycle? Used to
25. Do you sing in the shower? Not a chance- I don't even want to hear me
26. Who's the best looking Disney character? He did such a neat job designing his characters, there are many best looking! Personally, I thought the cutest was Robin Hood, the fox!
27. What is the first thing you think of when you wake up in the morning? Ugh, I have to go to work
28. How many rings before you answer the phone? Until the answering machine picks up so I can see who it is.
29. How do you want to die? In my sleep.
30. Have you ever called a 900 number? No- way too cheap!
31. Gold or silver? Silver
32. Would you ever go bungee-jumping? Never,not on a dare!
33. Do you like dressing up? Not at all
34. Would you rather be short or tall? Don't care
35. Do you enjoy reading? Yes
36. What book are you reading now?No time
37. Favorite books? SF mostly
38. What was the last movie you saw? In a theater? So long ago I don't remember
39. Favorite movies? Don't like movies.
40. Do you sleep with a stuffed animal? I used to- now I have a warm body!
41. What is your sign? Saggitarius
42. What are your personality traits? Logical, low keyed
43. What's your biggest fear? I have no idea.
44. Would you ever have cosmetic surgery?No
45. Future child's name? That's a rotten thing to ask a mother of more than one kid!
46. Favorite foods? I eat to live, not live to eat.
47. Chocolate or vanilla? chocolate
48. Do you like to drive fast? no
49. Storms - cool or scary? Cool- but I don't live in tornado alley, either- for a reason
50. Do you like to dance? no- totally uncoordinated
51. Do you do drugs? Not a chance- I don't like to be out of control
52. Do you smoke? Never- only the "cool" girls back in high school smoked, and I certainly was never cool
53. What do you think of people who smoke? Too bad they are addicted
5'4", which is entirely too short by my tastes.
54. Do you drink? one a night when I get home from work
55. Favorite drink? (shhh- box wine- because I don't have to drink the whole thing before it goes bad)
56. Do you think men and women could ever be just friends without wanting each other? Well, my partner and I are gay, so it's pretty much a non-issue
57. Do you eat the stems of broccoli? of course!
58. If you could have any job you wanted, what would it be? Crafting things
59. What's your "type"? No idea
60. Do you bite your nails? no, never have
61. Any siblings? 1 brother
62. What movies have you cried in? Don't watch movies because I cry too easily
63. Do you believe in God? no
64. Did you ever cry over a guy/girl? Not that I remember
65. Have you ever stolen anything? No
66. Do you procrastinate? Absolutely
67. Do you believe in fate? Not really
68. Who's your favorite Sesame Street character? Oscar
69. Do you organize your CD's? Not really
70. What is your favorite kind of music? Very eclectic- classical, classic rock, heavy metal (old),folk music
71. What are your favorite bands/artists? U2, Metallica, Sting
72. What was the last CD you got? Don't remember
73. MTV or VH1? VH1 whe I watched either of them
74. Who do you admire the most? Ghandi- he had real strength of his convictions. And Mother Theresa for the same reason
75. Internet Boyfriends and Girlfriends? No
76. Are you single? No
77. Favorite TV show? Bones
78. Blondes, Brunettes, or Redheads?
79. Glasses or contacts? reading glasses that I resent every time I put them on
80. What color are your eyes? brown
81. What is your natural hair color? brown
82. But what color is it now? brown
83. Have you ever been in love? yes
84. Any pets? currently only 2 dogs- the lowest I have been my entire life!
85. Good, decent, or poor grades? good grades
86. Is the glass half empty or half full? half empty- I am a pessimist
87. Do you type with your fingers on the right keys? yes
88. What's under your bed? Storage bins with sheets and blankets because this house has NO storage or linen closet
89. What is your favorite number? 9
90. Favorite sport to watch? FOOTBALL
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1. What state/province/country are you in and what is your climate like? We are in Vermont- cold, short growing season, long cold winters!
2. How many people are in your family? Marital status? Grown children, one grandson (so far), and happily civil unionized. (I'm not going to start here on marriage and traditional ownership of spouses- I am not a cow!)
3. How would you define self sufficiency? I'm not sure true self-sufficiency is possible. It really does take a community of like minded folks to get all the skills necessary for survival.
4. What would you do with your spare time if you had any resources you needed? Raise horses and have a band of high quality broodmares and foals.
5. Have you ever built a house , or other types of building? Do you want to? Personally- I wouldn't be able to. I would love to be able to afford to have a house built for us!
6. Can you weld? Steel, aluminum, MiG, TiG, stick, Oxy-Acet? Nothing at all like this!
7. Who or what inspired you to become more self sufficient? I love knowing how things used to be done- before mechanization and factory-made stuff. It morphed into doing things for ourselves because it is cheaper and healthier
8 Cloth or paper? Cloth- and I am slowly getting my SO on board with this. No more paper towels!
9. In what ways are you self sufficient now and in what ways would you like to learn more? I have some SS homemaker skills- fiber to cloth, soap, some home made foods (pasta, eggs, yogurt, kombucha). I would like to have the TIME to learn how to do more, especially hard things like solar electric and other feats of engineering.
10. In what way(s) will you never choose to become self sufficient? I don't think we could ever raise and eat our own meat. I could probably hunt and be comfortable eating it or buy from someone else, but I can't raise my own.
11. Are you interested in stocking up for future needs? I am trying!
12. Where do you end up when you sink into yourself, away from the outside world? In a forest trackless and deep. Unfortunately, since my SO is a bit claustrophobic about forests and being lost I don't go there much in the real world anymore.
13. Can you drive a farm tractor or a semi? Tractor- we just bought a bigger one that has a round bale grabber- I love it!
14. Do you make crafts or useful items? Would you want to teach others how to do these? I love almost any kind of crafts, but I am a lousy teacher. I do most fiber crafts- spinning, quilting, weaving, knitting, crochet, and I used to do stained glass when I lived in a house with room to have glass spread out all over.
15. Can you have legally livestock where you are at? Do you have any? What kinds? We are in Vermont. There are very few livestock rules. We have chickens and horses, but I wish for the time to have a milking animal, either goat or small cow.
16. Can you operate a lathe? Metal, wood? No, but it would be really cool to learn woodworking and turning.
17. Do you like to garden? If so, what do you enjoy growing? I try to grow things to eat. It frequently doesn't work!
18. Do you fish? Bait or explosives? No, not really an appealing pastime, and the river here is too polluted- I wouldn't eat anything out of it.
19. How much space/land do you have or rent? City? Country? We have 4.5 acres according to the town. Of course, when we bought it we were told it was 5 acres.
20. Are you a Novice, Technician, General, Advanced? ARRL? No idea
21. What is your self sufficient specialty? Or what one would you like to learn? I suppose my specialty would be fiber crafting.
22. If you could create a degree and curriculum, what would you major in and what classes would you take? I have enough degrees- I want to learn real life things now.
23. Do you do wood work? framing, finish, cabinet? No, but it would be cool
24. Are you interested in herbal medicine? I am, but I don't know enough about it and I'm really not that good with plants.
25. If you could live any place you chose, where would it be? I don't even know. It would have to be somewhere where my spouse and I are legal, so that leaves out almost anywhere warm. Except New Jersey.
26. Do you use a wood stove for heating or cooking? Love our Vermont Castings wood stove- it heats the entire house when we run it!
27. What would your ideal super hero/villain be? Don't really know
28. Are your family or friends also interested in self sufficiency? Not particularly, but if I can do something SS without too much disruption to my SO it goes easier.
29. Do you like to cook? Are you interested in whole foods and natural foods? raw milk? farm fresh eggs? I hate cooking, but I am interested in the sort of "crafting" side of it. Making pasta, yogurt, kombucha, preserving. We have more eggs than we can eat and I would love to someday learn how to make cheese!
30. What was your MOS? No clue!
31. Do you forage or hunt for part of your food needs? No. Not now.
32. What skills do you have that help you be more self sufficient? My best ss skill is that I am interested and learn quickly!
33. In which fictional universe would you most like to live? I don't know.
34. Do you have solar panels? Plans to use solar energy? Would love to! Wish I could afford a grid tie system at least, since the actual maintenance requirements of an off the grid system seems beyond my engineering skills.
35 What is the mass/weight ratio of a European swallow carrying a coconut from the tropics to England?
36. Have you ever lived completely off grid? Would you like to? I would, but I doubt my SO would.
37. In what do you trust? Myself and my partner.
38. Do you make things yourself to save money? I do! But don't tell my SO.
39. Has trying to be more self-sufficient changed your attitude or habits about money/spending? I don't think so, since I have always been a penny pincher.
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http://www.nifty-stuff.com
01. Name? Valerie
02. Gender? Female
03. Disneyworld or Disneyland? Never been to either, though both my kids have been multiple times with their dad.
04. What is your favorite color? Blues/purples/grays
05. What is your favorite kind of gum? ICK
06. How much do you weigh? I actually have no idea- we don't own a scale!
07. How tall are you? 5'4" I think
08. Can you swim? yes
09. Do you like to swim? NO
10. Living arrangement? Living with my partner of 11 years- the longest, most stable part of my life so far!
11. What's on your mouse pad? Jack Russell Terrier
12. Favorite board game? Mouse Trap!
13. Favorite magazine? Don't have time for magazines- haven't read any in years.
14. Favorite Actor? No idea, don't care
15. Favorite Actress?No idea, don't care
16. Do you have an accent? I don't think so!
17. Favorite smells? Horse, incense
18. Least favorite smells?Chemicals, perfumes, overly perfumed laundry stuff, Glade plug-ins and icky stuff like that.
19. Favorite sound? The horses running in the paddock playing
20. Do you prefer pools or oceans? Neither.
21. Do you watch Buffy The Vampire Slayer? Loved Buffy!
22. Pencil or pen? Pen- pencil makes my blood run cold
23. Who's better - boys or girls? DUH
24. Would you like to own a motorcycle? Used to
25. Do you sing in the shower? Not a chance- I don't even want to hear me
26. Who's the best looking Disney character? He did such a neat job designing his characters, there are many best looking! Personally, I thought the cutest was Robin Hood, the fox!
27. What is the first thing you think of when you wake up in the morning? Ugh, I have to go to work
28. How many rings before you answer the phone? Until the answering machine picks up so I can see who it is.
29. How do you want to die? In my sleep.
30. Have you ever called a 900 number? No- way too cheap!
31. Gold or silver? Silver
32. Would you ever go bungee-jumping? Never,not on a dare!
33. Do you like dressing up? Not at all
34. Would you rather be short or tall? Don't care
35. Do you enjoy reading? Yes
36. What book are you reading now?No time
37. Favorite books? SF mostly
38. What was the last movie you saw? In a theater? So long ago I don't remember
39. Favorite movies? Don't like movies.
40. Do you sleep with a stuffed animal? I used to- now I have a warm body!
41. What is your sign? Saggitarius
42. What are your personality traits? Logical, low keyed
43. What's your biggest fear? I have no idea.
44. Would you ever have cosmetic surgery?No
45. Future child's name? That's a rotten thing to ask a mother of more than one kid!
46. Favorite foods? I eat to live, not live to eat.
47. Chocolate or vanilla? chocolate
48. Do you like to drive fast? no
49. Storms - cool or scary? Cool- but I don't live in tornado alley, either- for a reason
50. Do you like to dance? no- totally uncoordinated
51. Do you do drugs? Not a chance- I don't like to be out of control
52. Do you smoke? Never- only the "cool" girls back in high school smoked, and I certainly was never cool
53. What do you think of people who smoke? Too bad they are addicted
5'4", which is entirely too short by my tastes.
54. Do you drink? one a night when I get home from work
55. Favorite drink? (shhh- box wine- because I don't have to drink the whole thing before it goes bad)
56. Do you think men and women could ever be just friends without wanting each other? Well, my partner and I are gay, so it's pretty much a non-issue
57. Do you eat the stems of broccoli? of course!
58. If you could have any job you wanted, what would it be? Crafting things
59. What's your "type"? No idea
60. Do you bite your nails? no, never have
61. Any siblings? 1 brother
62. What movies have you cried in? Don't watch movies because I cry too easily
63. Do you believe in God? no
64. Did you ever cry over a guy/girl? Not that I remember
65. Have you ever stolen anything? No
66. Do you procrastinate? Absolutely
67. Do you believe in fate? Not really
68. Who's your favorite Sesame Street character? Oscar
69. Do you organize your CD's? Not really
70. What is your favorite kind of music? Very eclectic- classical, classic rock, heavy metal (old),folk music
71. What are your favorite bands/artists? U2, Metallica, Sting
72. What was the last CD you got? Don't remember
73. MTV or VH1? VH1 whe I watched either of them
74. Who do you admire the most? Ghandi- he had real strength of his convictions. And Mother Theresa for the same reason
75. Internet Boyfriends and Girlfriends? No
76. Are you single? No
77. Favorite TV show? Bones
78. Blondes, Brunettes, or Redheads?
79. Glasses or contacts? reading glasses that I resent every time I put them on
80. What color are your eyes? brown
81. What is your natural hair color? brown
82. But what color is it now? brown
83. Have you ever been in love? yes
84. Any pets? currently only 2 dogs- the lowest I have been my entire life!
85. Good, decent, or poor grades? good grades
86. Is the glass half empty or half full? half empty- I am a pessimist
87. Do you type with your fingers on the right keys? yes
88. What's under your bed? Storage bins with sheets and blankets because this house has NO storage or linen closet
89. What is your favorite number? 9
90. Favorite sport to watch? FOOTBALL
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1. What state/province/country are you in and what is your climate like? We are in Vermont- cold, short growing season, long cold winters!
2. How many people are in your family? Marital status? Grown children, one grandson (so far), and happily civil unionized. (I'm not going to start here on marriage and traditional ownership of spouses- I am not a cow!)
3. How would you define self sufficiency? I'm not sure true self-sufficiency is possible. It really does take a community of like minded folks to get all the skills necessary for survival.
4. What would you do with your spare time if you had any resources you needed? Raise horses and have a band of high quality broodmares and foals.
5. Have you ever built a house , or other types of building? Do you want to? Personally- I wouldn't be able to. I would love to be able to afford to have a house built for us!
6. Can you weld? Steel, aluminum, MiG, TiG, stick, Oxy-Acet? Nothing at all like this!
7. Who or what inspired you to become more self sufficient? I love knowing how things used to be done- before mechanization and factory-made stuff. It morphed into doing things for ourselves because it is cheaper and healthier
8 Cloth or paper? Cloth- and I am slowly getting my SO on board with this. No more paper towels!
9. In what ways are you self sufficient now and in what ways would you like to learn more? I have some SS homemaker skills- fiber to cloth, soap, some home made foods (pasta, eggs, yogurt, kombucha). I would like to have the TIME to learn how to do more, especially hard things like solar electric and other feats of engineering.
10. In what way(s) will you never choose to become self sufficient? I don't think we could ever raise and eat our own meat. I could probably hunt and be comfortable eating it or buy from someone else, but I can't raise my own.
11. Are you interested in stocking up for future needs? I am trying!
12. Where do you end up when you sink into yourself, away from the outside world? In a forest trackless and deep. Unfortunately, since my SO is a bit claustrophobic about forests and being lost I don't go there much in the real world anymore.
13. Can you drive a farm tractor or a semi? Tractor- we just bought a bigger one that has a round bale grabber- I love it!
14. Do you make crafts or useful items? Would you want to teach others how to do these? I love almost any kind of crafts, but I am a lousy teacher. I do most fiber crafts- spinning, quilting, weaving, knitting, crochet, and I used to do stained glass when I lived in a house with room to have glass spread out all over.
15. Can you have legally livestock where you are at? Do you have any? What kinds? We are in Vermont. There are very few livestock rules. We have chickens and horses, but I wish for the time to have a milking animal, either goat or small cow.
16. Can you operate a lathe? Metal, wood? No, but it would be really cool to learn woodworking and turning.
17. Do you like to garden? If so, what do you enjoy growing? I try to grow things to eat. It frequently doesn't work!
18. Do you fish? Bait or explosives? No, not really an appealing pastime, and the river here is too polluted- I wouldn't eat anything out of it.
19. How much space/land do you have or rent? City? Country? We have 4.5 acres according to the town. Of course, when we bought it we were told it was 5 acres.
20. Are you a Novice, Technician, General, Advanced? ARRL? No idea
21. What is your self sufficient specialty? Or what one would you like to learn? I suppose my specialty would be fiber crafting.
22. If you could create a degree and curriculum, what would you major in and what classes would you take? I have enough degrees- I want to learn real life things now.
23. Do you do wood work? framing, finish, cabinet? No, but it would be cool
24. Are you interested in herbal medicine? I am, but I don't know enough about it and I'm really not that good with plants.
25. If you could live any place you chose, where would it be? I don't even know. It would have to be somewhere where my spouse and I are legal, so that leaves out almost anywhere warm. Except New Jersey.
26. Do you use a wood stove for heating or cooking? Love our Vermont Castings wood stove- it heats the entire house when we run it!
27. What would your ideal super hero/villain be? Don't really know
28. Are your family or friends also interested in self sufficiency? Not particularly, but if I can do something SS without too much disruption to my SO it goes easier.
29. Do you like to cook? Are you interested in whole foods and natural foods? raw milk? farm fresh eggs? I hate cooking, but I am interested in the sort of "crafting" side of it. Making pasta, yogurt, kombucha, preserving. We have more eggs than we can eat and I would love to someday learn how to make cheese!
30. What was your MOS? No clue!
31. Do you forage or hunt for part of your food needs? No. Not now.
32. What skills do you have that help you be more self sufficient? My best ss skill is that I am interested and learn quickly!
33. In which fictional universe would you most like to live? I don't know.
34. Do you have solar panels? Plans to use solar energy? Would love to! Wish I could afford a grid tie system at least, since the actual maintenance requirements of an off the grid system seems beyond my engineering skills.
35 What is the mass/weight ratio of a European swallow carrying a coconut from the tropics to England?
36. Have you ever lived completely off grid? Would you like to? I would, but I doubt my SO would.
37. In what do you trust? Myself and my partner.
38. Do you make things yourself to save money? I do! But don't tell my SO.
39. Has trying to be more self-sufficient changed your attitude or habits about money/spending? I don't think so, since I have always been a penny pincher.
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http://www.nifty-stuff.com
Tomorrow I will go food shopping, pick up the mail and pay bills, and make soap! I am loving the thought of 7 whole days all to myself to just sit and watch the horses play in the snow.
